Shadowed Vengeance
by KoalaNoob
Summary: "Welcome. My name is Mapleshade. Tonight, the battle between the Clans and the Dark Forest will begin. I will die in it. It is inevitable. But I, like any other, have a history. It may be bitter, but it has made me grow as a person. I am Mapleshade of Thunderclan, Mapleshade of the Dark Forest. This is my story."
1. Allegiances

**_This chapter contains only the allegiances. The real story begins in the next chapter which will be posted tomorrow, on March 3rd.  
_**

* * *

**Leader: **Snowstar

**Deputy: **Petalstorm

**Medicine Cat: **Mintblossom

**Warriors:**

**Barkfur:** Dark brown tabby tom with orange eyes.

**Ripplefall:** Small silvery-blue tom with azure eyes.

**Mistcloud:** Pale gray tom with darker gray eyes.

**Cloverstem:** Tortoiseshell she-cat with varying shades of brown and yellow eyes.

**Dewpelt:** White tom with blue eyes.

**Fernstep:** Light brown she-cat with darker paws and green eyes.

**Morningheart: **Bright orange she-cat with blue eyes.

**Leafstrike:** Gray tabby she-cat with bright green eyes.  
_Apprentice: Waterpaw_

**Songbird:** Small cream colored she-cat with blue eyes.

**Breezefang:** Black tom with lighter streaks and gray eyes.

**Skyfeather:** Brown she-cat with pale gray eyes.

**Brightblaze:** Fiery-ginger she-cat with bright amber eyes.

**Honeyheart:** Yellow she-cat with darker splotches and gray eyes.

**Icedawn:** Silver she-cat with chilling blue eyes.  
_Apprentice: Duskpaw_

**Mossberry:** Russet and orange tortoiseshell tom with green eyes.

**Wishfire:** White she-cat with red stripes and orange eyes.  
_Apprentice: Flowerpaw_

**Starlingflight:** Gray tom with blue eyes.

**Acornclaw:** Brown tom with darker paws and eyes.  
_Apprentice: Grasspaw_

**Apprentices:**

**Duskpaw: **Black tom with yellow eyes.  
_Mentor: Icedawn_

**Grasspaw:** Brown tabby tom with green eyes.  
_Mentor: Acornclaw_

**Flowerpaw:** Small white she-cat with blue eyes.  
_Mentor: Wishfire_

**Waterpaw: **Black she-cat with blue eyes.  
_Mentor: Leafstrike_

**Queens:**

**Dappleflower: **Orange and white tortoiseshell with amber eyes.  
_Kits: Rosekit and Maplekit_

**Elders:**

**Willowstream: **Gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes.

**Pebblethorn: **Gray tom with darker spots and eyes.

* * *

_**The real story begins in the next chapter, which will be posted tomorrow, March 3rd.  
**_


	2. Chapter 1

**I've had this idea for a while now, and finally decided to start writing it. It took forever. That's okay, though, as long as it pleases the readers! Unfortunately, the idea is a bit overused right now, but I'm doing my best to make it unique.**

**NOTE: The first section sucks out loud, but I don't know how to fix it. It gets better after that.**

* * *

From the murky shadows, a she-cat pads forward, her amber eyes glittering in the darkness. Her pelt is mangy, reeking of death and sickness, yet, she walks on, a lithe form becoming clearer as the she-cat approaches. Finally, the figure sits, and begins to speak:

"Welcome to my home, the Dark Forest. Mapleshade is my name, and tonight, I shall die. I know it. It is inevitable. I have long lived in the shadows, torturing and killing others. I have never found a place to shine, or to exact my revenge on the ones who broke me. But tonight, my revenge shall come, as well as my death. This is my story."

* * *

Maplekit bounced out of the nursery, pure joy flooding her expression. Rosekit, the fluffy tortoiseshell's sister, followed her. Though Maplekit was bursting with excitement, her sibling clearly wasn't. In fact, she looked bored; like this was something she saw every day, which she had, though she was only four days old. Rosekit was born with her eyes open, and as a result, Dappleflower had let her out after only a day of being born. Maplekit, whose eyes had just opened a few heartbeats ago, had never been outside.

Rosekit, though tired, giggled at her sister's childish energy. "Maplekit, it's just camp! You don't have to run around so fast; you'll get to see this place every day for the rest of your life! The warriors will get mad at you if you trip over them!"

"Trip over warriors? That sounds fun! But are they as big as mommy? Dappleflower's giant; I don't think I can trip over anyone as big as her…" Maplekit's tone, first happy, quickly turned nervous and scared. It was her first time outside, after all, and she was deathly scared of making a mistake and being sent back to the nursery.

"Don't worry! You won't _really_ trip over them! You just kind of… run under their legs, and then they trip on you and fall!" Rosekit's tone was rather matter-of-fact, which made sense, as she was trying to teach her sister. Then she realized what she said might scare Maplekit even more, so she quickly added "But they fall on themselves, not you," in an attempt to soothe her sister.

By the time Rosekit had finished talking, though, Maplekit had disappeared to explore on her own. She was by the fresh-kill pile, which was quite large, even considering it was greenleaf. It was stacked dangerously high with plump squirrels and mice, fat birds, and even a rabbit that must have had the misfortune to run into a Thunderclan warrior. The final touch was a Maplekit perched on a pair of mice, poking around and causing mischief.

A certain fluffy ball of fur had stuck her head into a small niche she had created in the hill of food. Wiggling, Maplekit enlarged the hole, allowing the rest of her tiny body to fit. Her hind legs scrabbled at a squirrel to get a good hold and when a claw stuck, she used it to pull herself up.

Now tucked away in her own little hideout, Maplekit had forgotten about Rosekit. She waited impatiently for a warrior to find the piece of prey that happened to be her, ready to spring out and scare the unlucky cat that found her.

* * *

Rosekit was now running around camp, desperate to find her sister. She stopped paying attention for one second, and Maplekit was gone. She knew she was the same age as her sister, though she was bigger. She knew she held no responsibility over her. But she was worried all the same. So she took off to find the mischievous ball of fluff that was Maplekit. She was tired, but protecting her sibling was just the right thing to do. Besides, her mother might be too tired to find a runaway kit.

"Maplekit? Maplekit, where are you? Dappleflower will be mad if we get in any warrior's way! And what if she's worrying about us now, because we've been outside for so long? You don't want momma to be upset, do you?" Rosekit's nervous calling was loud enough to penetrate even the thick bramble walls of the elder's den. Panic edged her mew; the young kit was obviously scared. Several Thunderclan cats had suggested that she simply wait for her sister to return to the nursery, but the pale white-and-orange kit brushed off the advice.

By nightfall, Maplekit had not been found. That is, not until Rosekit ran, blurry-eyed, into the nursery. There she was, contentedly sleeping beside her mother. Outrage threatened to overtake Rosekit. She had spent her _entire day_ searching for her irresponsible, no-good, useless sister, and the very same sister had just been sleeping. In a fit of anger, the bright russet kit stormed over to her sleeping kin and thwacked her with a small-yet-powerful paw.

* * *

As wanted, the pain woke Maplekit. It was obviously nothing serious, what had hit her was soft and padded with even softer fur. But it scared the kit. Her sister had played with her before her eyes had opened, patient even though the playmate was blind. Rosekit had been kind and caring, though she was only several seconds older. In a way, she was Maplekit's second mother. The person who took care of her when Dappleflower couldn't. She would never have thought that the very same cat would try to hurt her.

A wail rose from her little throat, escalating from a whimper to a cry of terror. There was no thought behind what she did next, pure adrenaline guided Maplekit's paws. The frightened mewling suddenly stopped. She was on four paws, dashing towards her sister, using her smaller size to duck under the cat obscuring her path out the nursery. Unknowingly, while she traversed the delicate tunnel, fighting instinct had caused the fleeing kit to raise a claw and nick the roof.

* * *

Pain at Rosekit's belly, and a small trickle of blood leaked out. By the time the older sibling noticed, however, her attacker was gone; disappeared somewhere in the seemingly enormous camp. In reality, the wound was nothing more than a minor scrape. It was the type of injury that occurred when one trips and falls on a few pebbles. But to a kit, any pain caused intense suffering, whether it was a thorn in the paw or a blow to the head by a strong, fully-grown warrior.

She didn't bother calling after her sister- she was already long gone. Besides, it was her own fault. Rosekit knew she shouldn't have gotten so upset over something little. Going off to rest was a natural thing; Maplekit had simply gotten tired. Giving a long, tired, sigh, she lay down in Dappleflower's nest, in a position almost identical to the one her sister had been in before she had been scared off. "It's my fault," she said quietly to herself. "It's my fault and I have to wait for Maplekit to approach me before I try to play with her any more. I need to give her some time alone."

Soon, she was in a deep slumber, oblivious to everything around her. The sleep was blissful, filled with dreams of playing and happiness. Any pain or hardships from the day had been forgotten, swept away with a torrent of peace. Time had stemmed the tiny flow of blood Maplekit had created, leaving no indication of any wound ever existing. In fact, the only things that existed for Rosekit were softly colored butterflies and flowers, with rainbows raining happiness onto the bright, lush grass.

Yet, darkness lingers in the depths paradise. Benevolence was about to enter the kit's dreamscape, and ruin everything it had stood for. A silvery, star-cloaked figure appeared, seeming faded and distant, but as time moved on, the creature began to seem more real, more important. It emitted a powerful, mysterious aura, one that Rosekit couldn't simply ignore. The butterfly she was chasing was granted a few more heartbeats of life as its pursuer turned around, wearing a mingled expression of curiosity and fear.

"Wh-who are you?" Her tone reflecting what was told in her face, it took all of Rosekit's courage to inch forward a step. It wasn't daringly that she did so; curiosity and determination pulled her forward.

The figure, now close enough to be vaguely reminiscence of cat, did not reply. Its sole reaction was to stop moving forward, and when it sat down, it retained a gliding smoothness. Darkness shrouded the creature despite the clear sunlight, and within the darkness, two bright, yellow lights flashed. When the light was gone, the darkness and its contents had disappeared as well, leaving the land as it had been seconds before.

Shaken, the bright-russet kit feebly whimpered. The same butterfly she had been chasing briefly flitted by her muzzle before deciding it was safe to rest on. Unluckily for the delicate insect, it was wrong. The perch began to shake, and when the intricately designed creature took flight, a claw snagged its wing, quickly ending its life.

However, it seemed as if the darkness-shrouded creature had not yet left in presence. As Rosekit pinned the butterfly to the ground, it slowly changed into a pale red leaf with several points. As she lifted her claw, the spot that had been pierced began to leak some bright yellow substance, which evaporated into the air. As this happened, the once bright leaf began to darken, like all the light was spilling out of it, leaving only darkness. Rosekit gasped, but more in surprise than horror. It was certainly a strange occurrence, but it was just a dream. Anything could happen then. Yet, it was something she would soon come to a realization about.

* * *

Maplekit was curled up behind the nursery. She was scared, terrified even. The strange thing was, she wanted her sister. Dappleflower would have been nice, but Rosekit was who she really wanted. She was arguing with herself- she wanted to think that none of it was her fault, but in her heart, she knew some of it was. But not all of it. In the kit's logic, the person who started the fight was the one to blame for it. Rosekit had attacked her for no reason, which meant she had started the fight. But the knowledge that she had defended herself by drawing blood nagged at her. It was unnecessary, and though mostly and accident, it had initially pleased , the back of the nursery was home to the dirtplace.

Once Maplekit had calmed down, stench became quite apparent, wafting into her sensitive nose. With disgruntled sound, she picked herself up and scampered away, looking for a more pleasant place to stay. It was by the medicine cat's den that she took refuge. The herbs, though bitter in taste, possessed rather relaxing aromas.

She settled down under an overhanging of trees beside the cave that made the medicine cat's den, and proceeded to close her eyes. Though it was barely past sunhigh, Maplekit was immensely tired. However, her sleep would not come as easily as Rosekit's. She had nothing to snuggle against, no comfort-giving object. So she pressed herself against the rocky wall of the medicine cat's den, still attempting to continue her nap. She felt herself begin to warm up, sinking into the softness of sleep, but thoughts continued to plague her mind. She had the feeling that if she slept, her dreams would be filled with the same problems. Maplekit was tempted to simply loose consciousness and let her problems be solved in a dream, but a single fear prevented her from doing that: She might not be able to escape the nightmare.

Unknowingly, she began to vocalize her thoughts, though her own paws muffled her meows. "Maybe Rosekit got frustrated at me… I think she was looking for me so she could keep me safe…" It was then that the frightened kit realized why her sister had struck her: Rosekit had been searching all morning and she was just sleeping. It was also then that she decided to do better for her sister- after all, since she was born, the russet kit had done nothing but take care of Maplekit. She would start by not asking Rosekit to play with her all the time.

With that final thought, the red, orange and white dappled she-kit fell asleep, resting comfortably against cool stone. A blanket of leaves covered her, and it no longer mattered that she had no comfort object. Peace of mind was enough.

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**So did you like it? If so, please leave a review and a fave! I'll gladly take any suggestions ^^**

**By the way, I have no idea what to title this chapter, so you guys can suggest! The person who gives my favorite chapter name wins a shoutout and can have their OC added to the story!  
**


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